


"DIBS!"

by tappity_tap



Category: Bleach
Genre: 11th division, Abarai Family, Eleventh Division, F/M, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 19:58:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11881737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tappity_tap/pseuds/tappity_tap
Summary: Every parent is thrilled when someone sees incredible potential in their kid, right? Well…it depends on WHO that someone is.





	"DIBS!"

“ _Let’s hear it for our former 6 th Seat Abarai, the new father!_”

At those words, a chorus of cheers erupted from the gathered group of 11th Division soldiers and echoed off the high ceiling of the dojo.

Flushed from the attention, Renji grinned and rubbed the back of his neck while his past comrades threw up their arms (or in the case of a few, small personal possessions) and punched the air with each hearty shout in celebration of his newly attained life status. Their lieutenant, on the other hand, casually smirked and folded his arms in stark contrast to the boisterous merriment of his troops behind him. Being a close family friend meant Ikkaku had already gotten his chance to celebrate and voice his congratulations shortly after it happened; any excitement he felt over the matter likely wore off ages ago.

“Yep. Nice goin’, Renji,” he remarked with a lazy tilt of his head as Renji sheepishly mumbled his thanks to anyone who could actually hear him.

Renji briefly glanced around. “Heh…well, ya know, I did have _some_ help,” he chuckled, catching Rukia’s eye and giving her a sly wink.

“Ohhh, is _that_ how it was?” Rukia rolled her eyes in return and adjusted her hold on the bundle she carried without looking. Of course, she knew the baby within remained perfectly undisturbed. After a month of practice it was only natural she had this skill mastered. But even so she looked down, anyways…how could she resist such an adorable face when it was just begging to be smiled at?

“I think _someone_ needs his memory checked,” Rukia cooed at the baby, “Hm? What do you think, Ichika? Is Daddy going senile in his old age?”

In typical fashion, Ichika merely blinked once and proceeded to jam several fingers into her mouth.

“Hey now, I ain’t _that_ old,” Renji commented to her with a wry smirk while still focusing his main attentions on everyone else, “’Sides, we’re practically the same age, aren’t we?”

“Yes, but unlike you, _I_ aged rather well,” Rukia remarked while attempting to stopper an impending waterfall before it could dribble down Ichika’s chin; Luckily, she learned early on to keep a spare cloth tucked into the blankets for that very purpose.

A thoughtful look crossed Renji’s face. “Mmm…that ya did,” he agreed, pausing his repetitions of gracious nodding to look her up and down a few times in a pointed manner. A _very_ pointed manner.

As in, the kind that tended to make her warm, pink, and fidgety all over.

Rukia hastily looked away and concentrated as hard as she could on wiping off every last drop of drool once Ichika had stopped chewing on her own hand. While stuffing the cloth back into the nest of blankets, out of the corner of her eye, Rukia noticed a slender figure slip out of the still rambunctious crowd and sidle closer. She noticed, because he was making a fairly big show of rubbing the end of his braid between his fingers until he finally flicked it away with a cheerful, “Ahh, Rukia-chan…may I see her?”

As another close friend, Yumichika had also already given his regards to Rukia and Renji, however during every hospital and subsequent home visit he flat-out refused to come within ten feet of Ichika. It caused a bit of awkward confusion between all of them until Renji finally confronted him about it and, as always, Yumichika was only too eager to make his feelings known.

“Newborns,” he had explained with a dramatic wrinkle of his nose, “are such _repulsive_ little things, all gangly and red-faced…and that dreadful incessant _squalling_. It’s nothing personal, really, I just simply can’t _stand_ the sight of them.”

So after all that fuss, his request came as a complete surprise…and not without a teensy hint of suspicion. Nevertheless, like any new mother, Rukia eagerly welcomed every opportunity to show off her precious, _perfect_ offspring, and this was no exception. With a nod and a smile brimming with pride, she held out the baby to Yumichika.

Tucking one finger firmly under his pursed lip, he squinted and leaned forward to meet her with measured delay, likely bracing himself for the worst as well as preparing to deliver one of his usual scathing assessments. Almost instantly, though, Yumichika’s scrutinizing gaze softened when it met the pair of bright violet eyes curiously peering up from within the blankets, and he even smiled upon catching sight of the brilliant red hair clearly inherited from Renji. Since the day she was born it had been long enough to be lovingly gathered into a tiny ponytail by her father every single morning and today it was clipped with a sky blue bow to match her outfit

“Well, I’ll be…” Yumichika mused, sounding somewhat relieved, “The two of you actually made quite a beautiful baby. I’m impressed.” 

Renji’s head snapped around. “Oi…what’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded while sharply eyeing the division members who had taken Yumichika’s cue and excitedly began flocking to view little Ichika for themselves.

Yumichika straightened and backed away from Rukia to make room for them, hand on hip, and gave a toss of his glossy violet locks once sufficiently clear of the crowd. “She isn’t hideous. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? And here I was worried you might be burdened with an unappealing child for the rest of your lives,” he called to Renji over the rising din of cooing and awing.

“Haaah?! There’s no way in hell that was ever gonna happen! She’s _Rukia’s_ kid, for cryin’ out loud!” Renji shot back, his upper lip curling slightly.

 _And yours_ , Rukia thought to herself, trying not to make it _too_ obvious to the many people clustered around her that she was eyeing the way his defined jawline clenched with great interest. Yes, Renji’s fiercely passionate displays of emotion (especially those concerning her) were just something she was naturally attracted to and after much resistance she eventually decided it was best not to fight it.

“What of it?” Yumichika’s voice cut through her thoughts, “Ugly parents make beautiful children all the time, surely the reverse can…“

He abruptly trailed off and perked up, alert. Renji did the same a second later, as well as Ikkaku and a few of the other high-ranking officers in the vicinity. Rukia was about the ask what was happening when she, too, felt the heavy weight of an immense power swiftly drawing near and outside an angry voice bellowed from the direction of the 11th Division’s barracks:

“ _THE HELL’S ALL THIS COMMOTION ABOUT?_ ”

“Oh dear…that can’t be good,” Yumichika sighed and somberly shook his head just as the dense spiritual pressure crashed down over the area. With a shove so violent one of the doors was nearly knocked off its track, the one and only Captain Zaraki Kenpachi burst into the dojo, his hair, clothes, and eyepatch wildly askew.

“ _C-Captain Zaraki!_ ”

“ _Good morning, sir!_ ”

“ _Nice to see you, Captain!_ ”

“ _Bah!_ ” Kenpachi responded to his subordinates’ flustered greetings with an irritated grunt as he scanned the area for the source of the disturbance. Of course, being surrounded by almost 95% of the room’s occupants at this point, it was identified almost immediately and his raging scowl locked onto Rukia. He had yet to even start moving before the crowd around her completely parted and shrank back, only able to cower wide-eyed as they watched from the sidelines.

With the first step Kenpachi took in their direction, Rukia’s stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. She quickly glanced down at Ichika and was relieved to find the baby appeared completely unfazed by it all, too busy amusing herself with the moving lumps created in the blanket by kicking her own feet. That managed to bring Rukia some inner calm, at least. By contrast, Renji frantically materialized at her side at once and threw an arm protectively around her and Ichika to shield them from the encroaching fury, which managed to cross the entire room in less than ten heavy stomps.

“YOU! Whaddaya think yer doin’ gettin’ my squad all riled up at this hour?” the captain growled, towering over the huddled family in an intimidating display of his full 6’8” stature (though it appeared closer to an exact 7’ at that moment). His beady eye, puffy and bloodshot, squinted back and forth between Rukia and Renji several times before it widened in surprise. 

“Ehhh? Abarai ‘an Kuchiki? Arentcha still on leave? The hell’re ya even doin’ here?” he crossed his arms and frowned suspiciously at them, though thankfully his menacing posture appeared to be deflating at the confirmation of their identities.

“Ah, good morning, Captain Zaraki! Sir!” Renji replied with an appropriate manner of decorum while maintaining his defensive position, “We are still on leave, yes, we just figured now the baby’s gotten bigger it’s ‘bout time everyone met ‘er so we’re goin’ ‘round to all the divisions today.”

“That’s right, sir!” Rukia added, almost struggling to keep Ichika from kicking herself right out of her arms at this point, “She’ll be one month old tomorrow!”

“Oh…?”

Kenpachi finally noticed the wriggling baby Rukia was holding and the tone of ire surrounding him outwardly morphed into one of great interest. After a moment of silent contemplation, he reached up and pushed aside the patch covering his right eye. Several blinks were allotted for adjustment to the bright fluorescents overhead before he looked back down with his freshly unobstructed view. The longer he studied Ichika, the deeper the crease in his brow grew.

“Cute kid,” he finally remarked with the type of nonchalance that indicated his statement was more hastily thrown-out default than sincerely held opinion. The eyepatch slid back into place. “She gotta name?”

Rukia nodded and formally presented the squirming bundle to him as best she could without raising the risk of dropping it. “Captain Zaraki…Renji and I would like to introduce to you our daughter, Abarai Ichika.”

Upon hearing her full name, Kenpachi’s frown twitched upward just a tic. The difference it made to his expression was infinitesimal but it was enough that some of the unease Rukia had managed to shake off earlier started creeping back.

Suddenly, he bent over until his gnarled façade hovered inches above Ichika’s thrashing feet.

The moment Ichika sensed his presence, all movement ceased and she stared, unblinking, straight into the renowned face of death looming over her. Not in fear, as so many before her had, but in absolute, unabashed _awe_ , eyes wide with wonder and mouth open slightly in her own baby version of an astonished jaw drop. It was as if Zaraki Kenpachi’s unrelenting glare was the most amazing thing she had ever seen in her short little life.

The captain took his time eyeballing every last visible millimeter of Ichika, tilting his head from side to side and occasionally letting out what sounded like an approving grunt or two. Unsure what to make of this, Rukia glanced uncertainly at Renji; His grip on her shoulders tightened but he said nothing while Kenpachi inspected their daughter up close. 

When he unexpectedly lifted his hand and began to manually poke at Ichika’s fists, however, Renji started and loudly cleared his throat.

“Uh…Captain?” he asked, “What’re-“

“So,” the captain ignored Renji and addressed the infant he was examining instead, “Yer Abarai Ichika, huh?”

Being only a month old, Ichika gave no verbal reply to his question, but his calloused finger lightly jiggling each individual knuckle on her left hand earned a visible response. One by one, her fingers slowly uncurled and started feeling at this fascinating new thing that was prodding her in an almost playful fashion. She even smiled when it “flew” across and repeated the same procedure with her other hand.

Rukia found herself feeling a slight twinge of admiration at how patiently and without complaint the finger’s owner was allowing the baby to “catch” it every so often and examine it in any way she desired (including some not-so-gentle whacks) for a few moments before making her chase after it again. 

Perhaps…she and Renji fretted prematurely over nothing. After all, had not Captain Zaraki Kenpachi himself raised and cared for a little girl before? True, she was simply a corporal manifestation of his powers, but no one, not even Kenpachi, was aware of this at the time. For all intents and purposes, he appeared to share with her the same sort of bonds a father would share with his own daughter.

 _Well_ … _a DECENT father, at any rate_ , Rukia mentally clarified as the sneering face of a certain 12th Division captain and self-proclaimed “father” flashed in her mind.

But just as Rukia was about to fully relax, the unthinkable happened: Ichika’s tiny hands wrapped all the way around the captain’s finger…and _squeezed_. 

The sharp _crack!_ of his knuckle made Rukia’s heart stop. Next to her ear, she heard Renji suck in a breath and the reiatsu he had managed to keep subdued until then spiked with a panicked surge. Those who could see what was happening, including Ikkaku and Yumichika, all exchanged apprehensive looks amongst themselves. No one made a sound or dared to breathe, or perhaps the suffocating tension in the atmosphere rendered them incapable of doing so. The birds outside had mysteriously gone quiet as if they, too, were waiting for something, for _anything,_ to happen.

With everyone watching as the tip of his finger blossomed into a deep purple, Kenpachi stayed silent and his face remained unreadable. Was he indifferent? Annoyed? Angry? It was impossible to tell, and in a situation involving a man so volatile he would cut down his own allies if they got in his way, not knowing made them far more nervous than knowing it was any one of those answers.

How Rukia _wished_ with all her might she and Renji had not decided to leave the zanpakuto at home that morning, for all the good wishing would do when there was no way they could have foreseen the need for protection hours ago if they were just as in the dark here and now, in the last moments of teetering precariously on the edge before plunging into the unknown. And yet…maybe they would _never_ know? Anticipation, in its agonizing cruelty, had a way of grinding the world to a halt until everything, even time itself, seemed as though it would remain unmoving for the rest of eternity. It certainly felt that way now.

Then, ever so slowly, those hardened grizzled cheeks wavered and Kenpachi’s scarred mouth stretched wider and wider, pulling itself into a rather unsettling smile that ran nearly from ear to ear. With a jerk of his shoulders, he threw back his head and the most euphoric and unrestrained roar of laughter ever emitted by a captain of the Gotei 13 rang out through room. It rumbled through the rafters, shaking every joist and beam, rattling every timber until even the floorboards trembled beneath their feet.

Rukia (and Renji as well) automatically recoiled, from both shock and the deafening sound, but moving away entirely like her conscience was _desperately_ urging her to was not an option; Ichika still maintained a vice-like hold on the captain. All they could do was wait for the wild laughter to die down…and pray things did not get any worse than that.

“HA! That’s a nice grip ya got there, Ichika!” Kenpachi declared gleefully once he regained his composure. Bending over Ichika again, he lowered his voice to an almost soothing register. “Ahhh…yer gonna be real strong someday, arentcha? I can tell. You’ll be an elite Shinigami…just like yer parents. So be good for ‘em ‘an do exactly what they tell ya to, ya hear?” 

“ _Captain…_ ” Rukia breathed, hushed.

If Kenpachi heard her, he made no indications. Instead he straightened and stood there gazing silently at Ichika, that overjoyed smirk holding strong until she finally decided the novelty of his finger had worn off and let go. Chuckling to himself, Kenpachi turned and strolled away, casually massaging his finger back to its normal color as if getting manhandled and bruised by an infant was just a normal Monday morning occurrence.

As soon as Captain Zaraki was out of earshot, Renji spun Rukia around to face him and all but dove into the blankets Ichika was wrapped in. “She alright? He didn’t do anythin’ funny to ‘er, did he?” he muttered as he frantically pawed through them.

Rukia shook her head; Ichika appeared perfectly fine, smiling and clumsily smacking around Renji’s hands like she was attempting to “help” him check things out. Once he was certain, beyond a doubt, that his little girl was unharmed, Renji gave a sigh of relief and turned his attentions to Rukia. With utmost care, he brushed her slightly tousled hair back into place, making sure to give her cheek a gentle caress on each pass, and asked softly, “’An what about you? Are y-“ 

“ABARAI! KUCHIKI!” Kenpachi suddenly barked from across the room and thoughtlessly interrupted the tender gesture.

They both flinched and whipped around. The captain had stopped next to the roughed up door from earlier, still hanging lopsided on its hinges, with his back to them.

“When yer girl’s ready ta join up,” he slowly twisted his head and leered over his shoulder with an expression so sinister the room itself seemed to darken, “ _Send ‘er my way, got it?_ ”

A chill ran through Rukia’s entire body, so cold it made her instinctively shiver and clutch Ichika ightly to her chest. “Y-yes, Captain,” she replied in unison with a rapidly paling Renji.

Kenpachi’s grin widened until every sharp, gleaming tooth was on full display. With one last unsettlingly pleased glance at Ichika, he turned and dramatically swept out of the building. 

The second his ragged coat hem disappeared from sight around the corner of the barracks, Rukia suddenly found herself and Ichika being unceremoniously ushered towards the front entrance by Renji’s tense hand on her upper back. In the blink of an eye, he had donned his sandals (somehow managing to jam her into her own in the process) and whisked the three of them out the door, all while loudly proclaiming something about forgetting Ichika’s favorite toy at the house to the thoroughly confused crowd of Shinigami watching them.

When the 11th Division compound had shrunk to a speck on the horizon, Rukia-nearly tripping over herself to keep up with Renji’s long hastened strides-looked up at her husband’s taut face and quietly asked, “Renji…about what Captain Zaraki said…are we-”

“We are _not_ ,” he interrupted stiffly and hurried her along even faster.

They went straight home without stopping by any other divisions that day.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I started a comic and realized it would never get finished so enjoy this short story adaptation with pieces of the more finished panels scattered throughout instead. XD
> 
> It’s only been a month since Ichika was born here so Renji and Rukia are still experiencing new parent jitters and reactive tendencies…obviously this’ll wear off eventually since they let her join what’s basically the military at, what, 6 or 7 years old? lol And of course they probably started training her themselves while she was still very little. But right now Renji’s all “Oh heeeell no, I am NOT handing my baby girl over to the 11th!” He was a member once, he knows what it’s like. And he knows darn well Kenpachi wouldn’t hurt a baby but, again, he’s in Super Overprotective New Dad Mode right now and not thinking straight.
> 
> As for Kenpachi? No truly evil intentions there. He’s just SUPER jazzed he reserved the kid of two of the strongest lieutenants in the Gotei 13 for his team. Gotta keep up the 11th’s status as the toughest division, after all. XD
> 
> Just some general notes on how I’m writing baby Ichika: Her overall development (size/growth rate, emotional maturity) is progressing around the same rate as an average human baby but in terms of things like her fine motor skills, she’s waaay ahead. Being born and raised in the Seireitei also means she’s been exposed to all sorts of strong reiatsus from the get-go so even massive spikes in spiritual pressure don’t bother her.
> 
> TUMBLR LINK: http://tappity-tap.tumblr.com/post/164477930955/bleach-dibs


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